


Christmas Cookie (The Winter Soldier Has A Sweet Tooth)

by bored_now



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Movie Night, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 03:51:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12999240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bored_now/pseuds/bored_now
Summary: AULiving in the upstate Avengers facility, Darcy likes to bake and runs into a paranoid Bucky when she goes to drop off cookies to the communal kitchen one day.  Things begin to heat up from there...





	Christmas Cookie (The Winter Soldier Has A Sweet Tooth)

Darcy walked into the kitchen with a bounce in her step and moved to set the container of cookies down on the counter while humming Christmas carols under her breath. Sharon had told her to come on up and bring an extra big pile of cookies because Thor and Steve had no self-control. Her smile widened as she opened up a couple of cupboards looking for a platter or something that Sharon assured her would be up here. 

“Ah ha!” She exclaimed as she stood on her tiptoes and pulled the platter down from the cupboard. She turned around to face the table and squeaked in surprise. There was a man sitting there watching her. “Hi?” She said tentatively. He didn’t move. Or even really acknowledge that he heard her, except for the slight tightening of his eyes. 

“Er. I just brought some cookies? Sharon said I should just come up.” She explained. He didn’t move and his stare was more than a little unnerving. She just shrugged her shoulders and put the platter down in the middle of the table and opened the container of cookies and tried to ignore him as she put out the selection of homemade cookies on the platter. He was silent until she reached the gingerbread cookies. 

“Are those gingerbread?” He asked. She looked at him in surprise. 

“Yeah?” She said. “Are…do you like them?” There was a long pause that started to get really uncomfortable. 

“I think so.” He said, just when she was about to ignore him again. She held one out to him. 

“Do you want one?” He stared at the cookie suspiciously. “Uh, buddy. The cookie didn’t do anything to you.” 

He looked up at her and she couldn’t help but gasp at the intense look in his eyes. He was definitely scary. Then it clicked. He was the Winter Soldier. Of course he was leery of strange people coming into his space and offering him food. Darcy was actually surprised he hadn’t attacked her yet. 

But…at her gasp, he seemed to shrink into himself a little bit and her heart couldn’t help but go out to him. It wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t trust someone not to give him a poison cookie. She set the gingerbread cookies aside and began to arrange all the other cookies out on the platter. When she was done she put one of the gingerbread cookies on a napkin and sat across from him at the table and looked at him. 

“Alright. I’m going to break this cookie in half. You eat one half and I’ll eat the other.”

“Who made it?” He rasped and she frowned. 

“I did.” 

“All of them?” He asked skeptically looking at the platter piled high with a variety of cookies. He looked at the girl again and noted that she looked a little offended. 

“Of course all of them!” She focused on breaking the cookie in half and Bucky watched her, warily. He felt like he was always wary with people. He knew on some level that if she could come into the Avengers compound, if she was friends with Sharon (Steve’s girl), then she wasn’t a threat to him. But he couldn’t help it. 

“Sorry.” He muttered. 

“You can make it up to me by picking half a cookie to eat.” She said with a cheeky grin. He studied her for a moment and vaguely remembered liking it when girls would look at him with that sort of smile. He looked down at the napkin and picked up half the cookie. He watched carefully as she took the other half and ate it. He waited a few moments after she swallowed and when nothing happened, he ate his half. 

God, he’d forgotten how much he loved sweets. He couldn’t help the grin forming on his face and was surprised when she smiled back at him before she took another cookie (a sugar cookie this time) and broke it in half. They repeated this for five more cookies, before the noise of a door opening startled them out their connection. 

“Hey Bucky!” Sharon greeted him with a small smile. “Darcy! You’re here! Oooh…yum. Cookies!” She said as Steve walked in the room. “Look Stevie! She brought us cookies!” 

“They’re for all of us, Sharon.” Steve said with a fond grin. Bucky looked between the girl and Sharon and Steve. 

“Nu uh. I was the one who found out that she’s an amazing baker and convinced her to bake a bazillion cookies.” Sharon said with a sly smile as she went to hug her friend. Said friend laughed as she stood up. 

“Not a problem. I do this every Christmas.” She looked over at Bucky. “And, er-“

“James.” He filled in quietly, much to Steve and Sharon’s surprise. 

“James,” she repeated with a slight blush and grin. “We were sharing a couple while you guys were out.” 

“That’s great! I’m glad that you guys are getting along.” Sharon said before grabbing a plate and taking some from the platter to claim as her own. “I gotta get these before Thor gets here!” She laughed. Darcy smiled. 

“Don’t worry! I’ve still got some more Christmas baking to do. I’ll come by with some more if you run out.” She looked skeptically at the pile of cookies but Sharon was ignoring her as she shoved a chocolate peanut butter chip cookie in Steve’s mouth. 

“Thanks.” Bucky said as she moved towards the door. She turned back to smile at him. 

“No problem. Glad to meet you.” And she left. Bucky ducked his head, not really sure how true that statement was since he was pretty sure he had terrified her, but it had been nice to meet her. He looked up to see Steve and Sharon both looking at him fondly. 

He didn’t say anything and thankfully they didn’t either. He just got up and went to his room. The rule was that he had to spend one hour a day outside of his room. And he had. If it had been spent with a doll that he now knew baked all of his favorite sweets…well…he could only hope that tomorrow’s hour would be half as good. 

Bbbbbbbb

The next day found Bucky at the shooting range. He had managed to have a couple of cookies this morning without having to split them with anyone. To be honest, he was glad that his brain seemed to accept that the girl- Darcy- wasn’t a threat. She sure could cook and true to Sharon’s prediction, Thor could really put away food. Some part of him was hopeful that he’d be in the kitchen again when she came by with more sweets, but he knew that his luck was never that good. 

Or was it? He thought as the door to the shooting range opened and she came in holding a glock and a box of ammo. 

He frowned, not liking the look of her with a gun in her hand and at the expression of trepidation on her face. When she spotted him, her eyes brightened and he could tell she was greeting him by the look on her face. He nodded and was rather pleased when her smile widened. Like they were friends. Like she was glad to see him. It baffled him a little bit. 

She chose the empty lane on his right side. Even though the range was rather full, no one ever chose the lanes on either side of him. It was like an unwritten rule. He watched her a bit as she moved to get herself together, slowly loading a clip and then putting the clip into the gun. Her every move was hesitant as though she were remembering what to do. He saw her glance at him and he put his gun down and turned to her. She blushed. 

“I can help.” He found himself saying and to his surprise she practically beamed at him. 

“Would you? I have to get requalified but I don’t really…enjoy shooting.” She said as though confessing a deep dark secret. Which he supposed it was at a place like this. Everyone at the facility had to qualify with guns every six months, even the cleaning staff. 

“Come here.” He said tersely. He felt his heart sink a little as she reacted to his hard tone and clipped words. Some of the light faded from her smile. He hated himself a little more. 

“I don’t want to be a bother.” She said scuffing her shoe on the floor. He sighed. 

“You’re not a bother.” He replied, trying to soften his tone. He wished that he could remember how to be Bucky Barnes again. He wished that he remembered how to speak to a girl. Not just a girl, a true sweetheart who lit up when she saw him and helped him get over his fear of kindness. She looked at him skeptically, but moved to join him in his lane. 

They didn’t talk much. He wouldn’t have been able to even if he thought that he would be able to be charming. They were focused on the shooting and both had noise cancelling head gear on. He adjusted her stance. He helped her aim the gun. He showed her how to plant her feet so the recoil wouldn’t cause her tiny body to move and ruin her shot. When they were done, there was a marked improvement in her groupings and she grinned up at him again. 

“Thanks, James.” She said softly after they exited the range. Maybe she didn’t notice the people staring at them, or maybe she just didn’t care. 

“You’ll be fine.” He said referring to her requalification. 

“Thanks to you.” She said and reached out and gave his hand a friendly squeeze. His metal hand. His heart about melted in his chest but he didn’t know what to say. Until she pulled her hand back. 

“D’ya wanna go get a milkshake?” He blurted out, before kicking himself. Of course she wouldn’t. It was December and freezing in upstate New York. She probably had other stuff to do, sane people to hang out with…

“Sure. But maybe a brownie sundae?” She asked with a slight grin. “I’ve been wanting one for a while but everyone thinks it’s crazy in winter.” He smiled at her.

“The cold never bothered me.” She laughed and after she gave her empty gun back to the quartermaster (Bucky always kept his, usually after shooting, he cleaned them for hours in his room); insetad he went with Darcy to the motor pool to get a car. He was out of his room for well more than an hour that day. 

Bbbbbbb

“So Bucky, I heard that you and Darcy went out to the diner the other day.” Steve said sitting across from his friend at the table in the Avengers common area. 

“Yes. She’s…sweet.” Bucky answered and looked down at the meal he was eating. 

“Yeah, Sharon really likes hanging out with her. Says she’s one of the only normal people at this facility.” Steve continued on and Bucky didn’t respond past shrugging his shoulders. “Do you…do you think it’s wise to start something with her?” Steve asked hesitantly. Bucky looked up at him, and the betrayal and hurt was clear in his eyes. 

“I’m going to my room.” He said in a monotone. Steve opened his mouth to object but Bucky was gone before he could really form any words. Steve put his head in his hands. That couldn’t have gone worse. 

“Oh, hey Steve.” He looked up as Darcy walked into the room. He gave her a half-hearted smile. “Have you seen James?” She asked with a bit of a blush. Steve frowned. 

“Why?” He asked a bit defensively. She looked a bit surprised by his reaction. 

“Oh. I uhm…he mentioned how he much he liked the brownie sundae yesterday so I made him some brownies.” She paused a bit. “I brought some more cookies for the rest of you guys. Sharon sent me a rather frantic email.” She gave a little strained laugh and sat the plates on the table. Steve definitely had his judging face on. 

“Look, Darcy, I think that you’re swell…but are you sure you should be giving Bucky that kind of attention?” Her face lit up like a cherry. 

“I didn’t- I mean…if I’m bothering him.” She practically whispered and Steve felt a little bit guilty. She obviously liked his best friend and from everything he’d seen she was nice and sweet. But still…he would be doing her a favor in the long run. 

“It’s just that Bucky’s never really been the type to get serious about a girl before.” Steve said. 

“Oh. Ok.” She said and fiddled with the sleeve on her sweater a bit. “Well, still. Give him the brownies. But maybe, don’t say that they were from me.” Steve watched her as she seemed to study the ground. “I’d better get back to work. I just thought I’d come by on my lunch break and drop those off. Nice to see you Steve.” She said and practically fled the room. Steve felt a bit guilty, but, he rationalized that he was doing it for both their own good. 

BBbbbbbb

“It’s movie night! It’s movie night!” Sharon chanted under her breath as she got the popcorn going and looked around her living room as people started milling in. She had invited people from all over the facility but was especially happy to see Bucky sitting in a chair in the corner. He’d seemed to have had a relapse of antisocial behavior the past couple of days. And with Christmas right around the corner, it had been extra noticeable. 

“Sweetheart, no need to get so excited.” Steve said with a fond grin as Sharon gracefully organized their snacks in the kitchen. They were going to watch a bunch of Christmas movies tonight and he was pleased that some of them had people that he knew in them. 

Sharon merely gave him a serene look, but before she could say anything, the door opened to reveal Darcy standing nervously on the other side. “Darcy! So glad that you could make it! Now we can start!” 

“Sorry I’m a little late. It took a little longer than I thought to get these S’more cookies put together. I’ll just pop them in the oven.” She moved towards Sharon in the kitchen, purposely avoiding eye contact with Bucky. 

Steve looked between his friend and where the girls were in the kitchen having some sort of whispered conversation. Bucky had sat up straight in his chair as soon as she arrived and his eyes had tracked her every movement since she came in the room. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty as he saw Darcy try to look over at Bucky inconspicuously before blushing and looking down. Bucky’s metal hand clenched and he looked devastated at her reaction. 

“Let’s get this movie marathon started!” Sharon said and the two girls walked back into the room. With what she probably thought was a subtle movement, Sharon nudged Darcy towards the chair that Bucky was sitting in. 

“Hi.” Darcy said to him rather shyly went to gather a couple of pillows to make a space on the floor for herself. He cringed to see her sitting on the floor. 

“Sit here.” He said standing up and motioning to his chair. She looked up at him in surprise. 

“It’s ok. I’ll be fine down here.” She said and he frowned. Before she realized what was happening, Bucky had picked her up and placed her in the chair and he was sitting at her feet. 

She was blushing, and it only deepened when she saw that everyone was watching with different reactions. Sharon looked pleased, like she had planned for that to happen all along. Steve looked a bit constipated and everyone else looked a bit shocked at their interaction. 

“James.” She said under her breath. He merely leaned back so his head was next to her knee. He looked up at her and while the expression on his face wasn’t a smile, there was a certain fondness that could be seen there that made her embarrassment fade away and a smile grow on her face. “Ok.” She acquiesced and was rewarded when he did smile for a moment. “Thanks.” 

She thought she might have imagined it, but no. He had definitely brushed his hand gently against her foot in a gesture of affection. 

“I missed you.” He murmured and she leaned back in the chair and brushed his shoulder with her hand in a silent apology. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Steve watched them with trepidation but Sharon poked him in the side. 

“Don’t think I don’t know what you did.” She said with a frown. 

“What are you talking about?” Steve asked. 

“C’mon. They’re perfect for each other.” Sharon said subtly gesturing to Darcy and Bucky. 

“He’s just…he’s not himself. He’s not ready.” Steve said. 

“Steve. He’ll never be the same as he was in 1945. He’s a new guy. A guy who is crazy about that girl. And she happens to be crazy about him too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope that you enjoyed that! It's just a little something silly that's been sitting on my computer for a while. Not super happy with the ending, but figured 'tis the season for this story!


End file.
